I came across the Jawbone UP, an electronic bracelet that tracks your movements and displays fitness graphs and goals on your iPhone. It’s $99 and thus lies within that magical impulse purchase zone (for me, at least). So I almost impulse-purchased it, but then …

… perfectionism reared its purple head. Just moments ago, I was browsing with increasing glee UP’s drool-worthy features list. To wit:

• Vibrating inactivity reminders. When I’m sitting too long and not taking breaks, as I am wont to do, it will gently remind me I should be taking better care of my spine, mind, and other important bits.
• Sleep pattern tracker + sleep cycle alarm. It will track my thrashing and thus help me fine-tune my sleeping conditions, then wake me up at the proper stage in my sleep cycle around my target wake-up time (0520, baby).
• Meal tracker. I can take pics of my meals and then the app will prompt me later to rate how I feel—so I can see which foods, at least from an energy perspective, are good for me. I’m betting the Bread & Cup pics w0uld be the most energetic.

I could go on, because the darn thing’s pretty cool, and remember, it’s only 99 bucks. A tee-niny investment that pays for itself in one fewer doctor’s visit later on for high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes … the list goes on. But you know what else goes on? That perfectionist list in my head of what the Jawbone UP does not have. To wit:

• Bluetooth. The UP syncs by plugging into your iPhone’s headphone jack. It would be so much cooler (so, um, perfect, one might say) if it synced via Bluetooth. Then it could do live coaching while you cycle/run/walk.
• Heart rate monitor. You wear the thing right over one of your pulse points, for crying out loud.
• Caffeine injector. It senses inactivity; it’s right over a vein; are you seeing the possibilities? (I. Am. Joking.)

… and so on. You know what? Those features (save, probably, the caffeine injector) are almost certainly coming in UP version 2.0. The perfectionist in me says wait; 2.0 will be so much cooler. But by that time, with technology advancing as it tends to do, there will be yet more potential cool features.

And I’ll be way more than $99 fatter.

If I have the choice between spending time with a $100,000 donor or a potential candidate for a senior role, hands down it’s the candidate.

The Leadership Deficit

While working with cause organizations, I’ve struggled with what to call them. Nonprofit is the dominant term here in the United States, and has the additional advantage of being short. Social sector organization is more accurate and positive, but it’s unwieldy. The solution (so far): Cause organization, for three reasons.

• People: No one should be defined by what they don’t do. Do you want your identity to be that you don’t make a profit? I don’t want that for the amazing people I’m blessed to work with. The people I know are making a profit for society every day. Every day they’re doing what Bono says: Tearing a little corner off the darkness. So I’m not going to stand for defining people by what they don’t do, especially when that definition is wildly inaccurate. Which leads me to the second reason …
• Profit: Folks, the old government grants and philanthropy business model is not coming back. Cause organizations must be generating their own revenue—I daresay, profit—as a portion of their overall revenue models. I don’t have time right now to cite the extensive evidence to back up this point, but trust me—it’s there, and it’s awfully solid. More on this in future posts.
• Perspicacity: Alright, I’ll admit I was going for the alliteration first. But think about it, friends; perspicacity means sharpness of sight; acuity; insight. What are we in cause organizations for? The cause! It’s about the mission, folks. No other focus compares or will do with all the dark corners waiting to be torn.

What’s your preferred term for cause organizations? Why? Has your view changed over the years? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter.

It is said–though probably apocryphal–that Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest explained his victories by his “getting there firstest with the mostest.” There is valid reasoning in getting there first. Life is about success not perfection. The first one into a market often becomes the leader, correcting imperfections later. Life-saving decisions and interventions are best done rapidly. Speed is often associated with intelligence when complex tasks are involved. You can’t be slow to pay the bets at a craps table in a casino. Try to improve your speed. Most people can identify an “i” even if it isn’t dotted. When you’re 80% ready, MOVE!

Source: Alan Weiss’ Monday Morning Memo, a quick hit on leadership and consulting best practices. Subscription recommended.

Clover Frederick

“If individuals are willing to share information, they might also be willing to share their time, talent, or treasure,” says nonprofit marketer extraordinaire Clover Frederick of the nonprofit marketing network. “Those people out there are willing to volunteer. They simply need to be asked.”

When and how will you be asking your online fans to do more? Share your ideas in the comments.

Clover is director of the nonprofit marketing network and Lincoln AMA’s Nonprofit Marketer of the Year. This is one of seven videos I’m featuring to preview her talk:

• What is slacktivism?
• What can a slacktivist turned into an activist do for a nonprofit?
• Are slacktivists just Generation Y people?
• How can a nonprofit use slacktivism to its best advantage?
• In engaging slacktivists, whom should nonprofits focus on?
• What organizational capacity does a nonprofit need to use slacktivism to its best advantage?
• Today: What else will you cover in your July 28 presentation?

Clover is director of the nonprofit marketing network and Lincoln AMA’s Nonprofit Marketer of the Year. This is one of seven videos I’m featuring to preview her talk:

• What is slacktivism?
• What can a slacktivist turned into an activist do for a nonprofit?
• Are slacktivists just Generation Y people?
• How can a nonprofit use slacktivism to its best advantage?
• In engaging slacktivists, whom should nonprofits focus on?
• Today: What organizational capacity does a nonprofit need to use slacktivism to its best advantage?
• Tuesday, July 26: What else will you cover in your July 28 presentation?

Clover is director of the nonprofit marketing network and Lincoln AMA’s Nonprofit Marketer of the Year. This is one of seven videos I’m featuring to preview her talk:

• Monday: What is slacktivism?
• Tuesday: What can a slacktivist turned into an activist do for a nonprofit?
• Wednesday: Are slacktivists just Generation Y people?
• Thursday: How can a nonprofit use slacktivism to its best advantage?
• Today: In engaging slacktivists, whom should nonprofits focus on?
• Monday, July 25: What organizational capacity does a nonprofit need to use slacktivism to its best advantage?
• Tuesday, July 26: What else will you cover in your July 28 presentation?

Clover is director of the nonprofit marketing network and Lincoln AMA’s Nonprofit Marketer of the Year. This is one of seven videos I’m featuring to preview her talk:

• Monday: What is slacktivism?
• Tuesday: What can a slacktivist turned into an activist do for a nonprofit?
• Wednesday: Are slacktivists just Generation Y people?
• Today: How can a nonprofit use slacktivism to its best advantage?
• Friday: In engaging slacktivists, whom should nonprofits focus on?
• Monday, July 25: What organizational capacity does a nonprofit need to use slacktivism to its best advantage?
• Tuesday, July 26: What else will you cover in your July 28 presentation?

Setup for a vacation work day.

• Do it on a Tuesday. The schadenfreude of relaxing on a Monday while everyone else heads back to work is delicious.
• Be just as disciplined with your time as on a regular workday—you’re burning vacation. Set goals, give yourself deadlines for each, and get things done.
• Work on arrangements to hit the ground running when you return. Yesterday I, for instance, looked through all my recent meeting notes to determine talking points for networking coffees and lunches I will set up for the week of my return.
• Assemble the right equipment as shown in the photo:
1. A local beer, in this case from Woodstock Inn Brewery in North Woodstock, NH.
2. A church key to open the beer, made by a local artisan from a railroad spike.
3. A MacBook Pro, which has a high-quality screen easily viewable outside.
4. A hammock.

Do you take vacation work days? Let me know in the comments.